– BISPING TALKS ULTIMATE FIGHTER 9 COACHING ROLE

by Jeff Cain – MMAWeekly.com
Michael “The Count” Bisping won season three of The Ultimate Fighter and will coach season nine of the popular reality show on Spike TV. Armed with the experience of having gone through it, Bisping is excited about his role as coach.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be involved with TUF again,” Bisping told MMAWeekly.com. “I think it’s a great tool for the UFC to discover new talent. Obviously, for my career, it was amazing. I’ve got some very, very fond memories and I can’t wait to get involved with it again.”

Season nine will feature a United States vs. the United Kingdom theme consisting of lightweight and welterweight fighters.

“As far as the talent in the U.K., there’s a lot of great talent,” said Bisping. “I’ve seen a lot of people on the Internet saying things like England couldn’t compete with a team from America. I don’t see that as the case at all. I think we’ve got some fantastic talent.”

Bisping feels he’ll be able to relate to the unique situation of living in The Ultimate Fighter House having been there himself. And that he’ll be able to draw on that experience to benefit the fighters on his team.

“I’ve been there myself, so I’ll know some of the feelings they’re going through,” stated the British middleweight. “One of the main things I will tell them is what Dana (White) used to tell all of us, my season and every season. It really is the opportunity to change your life. Until you live it, you don’t realize how serious it is. It really does change your life. That’s one thing I’m going to implement to the people on there. Listen, this is your shot.”

While Bisping has been announced as the coach for the U.K. team, current rumors place the winner of the upcoming UFC 93 fight between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson slated for Jan. 17 as the other coach.